Many controversial topics that have received national and local attention pique people’s interest because they expose a wide range of emotions. It is not enough to simply allow passions to sway us, however, we need to understand and critically analyze the arguments posed.
Morality, values, and a person’s sense of decency are defined by their worldview. But what are their beliefs influenced by? The purpose of this assignment is to explore the arguments surrounding the issues, whether they are based on emotion, fact, or opinion.
Research topic: Choose a controversial topic that explores, or exposes moral ambiguity. This topic must have well defined arguments for and against it. Create a research question, then produce a well-written four to seven page paper exploring both sides of the issue, and finally argue your side.
Possible topics:
Please stay away from the following topics:
Cloning
Euthanasia
Faith based healing
Freedom of religious expression
Gun laws
Stem cell research
Abortion
Legalizing drugs
The online edition of World Book Encyclopediashould provide good background information for your topic. The password is available in the library.
Use the Digital Pipeline to find online resources on your topic. Necessary passwords are available in the library.
When searching in a database, be sure to check the "Full Text" box so that you get an electronic copy of the article.
• Try Resources for Students > High School > High School Ultra Edition
• Try Categories > Reference Suite@ Facts.com(TryIssues & Controversies, Today's Science, and World News Digest)
Use one of the citation generators on the "Works Cited" page of our library's wiki to produce bibliography citations for your sources.
Junior English Research Paper
Many controversial topics that have received national and local attention pique people’s interest because they expose a wide range of emotions. It is not enough to simply allow passions to sway us, however, we need to understand and critically analyze the arguments posed.Morality, values, and a person’s sense of decency are defined by their worldview. But what are their beliefs influenced by? The purpose of this assignment is to explore the arguments surrounding the issues, whether they are based on emotion, fact, or opinion.
Research topic: Choose a controversial topic that explores, or exposes moral ambiguity. This topic must have well defined arguments for and against it. Create a research question, then produce a well-written four to seven page paper exploring both sides of the issue, and finally argue your side.
Euthanasia
Faith based healing
Freedom of religious expression
Gun laws
Stem cell research
Legalizing drugs
The online edition of World Book Encyclopedia should provide good background information for your topic. The password is available in the library.
Use the Digital Pipeline to find online resources on your topic. Necessary passwords are available in the library.
When searching in a database, be sure to check the "Full Text" box so that you get an electronic copy of the article.
• Try Resources for Students > High School > High School Ultra Edition
• Try Categories > Reference Suite @ Facts.com (Try Issues & Controversies, Today's Science, and World News Digest)
Use one of the citation generators on the "Works Cited" page of our library's wiki to produce bibliography citations for your sources.